City Council
MEETING DATE: 7/26/2017
TITLE:
Title
2017 Building and Cannabis Fee Review and Recommendation
End
FROM:
Pat Milos, Community Development Director
Al Jimenez, Chief Building Official
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council accept the 2017 Cathedral City Building and Cannabis Processing Fee Review Recommendations and adopt a resolution thereby accepting the report concerning certain building and cannabis permit fees.
Body
BACKGROUND:
ITEM 1. The Cathedral City Municipal Code Title 8 addresses the payment of building fees on buildings, structures, electrical, gas, mechanical, and plumbing systems or alterations requiring a permit under the Building Code, which states that a fee for each permit shall be paid as required and in accordance with the fee schedule adopted by the City Council, a copy of which is on file with the Building and Safety Division.
The current Building Fee Schedule was adopted from the 1997 Uniform Building Code and in many cases, has not been updated or adjusted in accordance with the local Consumer Price Index.
ITEM 2. The Cathedral City Municipal Code 5.88.055 Covers the Renewal of local Cannabis license and states:
A. A medical cannabis business may apply for the renewal of a local license no less than thirty days prior to the local license’s expiration date. If the medical cannabis business files a renewal application less than thirty days prior to expiration, the medical cannabis business must provide a written explanation detailing the circumstances surrounding the late filing. The local licensing authority may accept or reject such late filing at its discretion. The local licensing authority may elect to administratively continue a local license past its expiration date, provided the licensee has submitted a renewal application that is pending final action.
B. An application for renewal will only be accepted if it is accompanied by the requisite licensing fees.
C. Each application for renewal shall include updated information for any part of the application that has undergone a change in circumstance since the original application or last renewal filing.
D. All owners of the medical cannabis business must be fingerprinted each year at renewal if required in the discretion of the local licensing authority or chief of police.
E. Unless administratively continued pursuant to subsection A, a local license is immediately invalid upon expiration and the medical cannabis business shall cease operations.
F. All local licenses are valid for one year. A local license may be valid for less than the applicable license term if revoked, suspended, voluntarily surrendered, or otherwise disciplined. (Ord. 775 § 3, 2016; Ord. 772 § 2, 2016)
DISCUSSION:
At the May 5, 2017, Study Session the City Council discussed the current fee schedule for building and cannabis permitting and directed staff to perform a complete review and comparison of Building Permit and Application processing Fees and Medical Cannabis processing and inspection fees. Once the comparison and process review was completed staff was directed to propose adjustments and bring the recommendation back to the City Council in the form of a resolution for Council review, consideration, and adoption. Staff has conducted a review and the results are addressed in Attachment 1. (2017 Cathedral City Building and Cannabis Processing Fee Review Recommendations) An individual breakdown of the fully burdened staff rates, processing time and expenses for each recommended fee adjustment as well as a comparison to neighboring Cities is provided in Attachment 2. (Building Permit Fee Study 2017 Worksheet) and the 2014 Desert Valleys Builders Association Development Fee Study is provided in Attachment 3.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate fiscal impact with the recommended fee adjustments, however the adjusted fees will allow the City to recover staff expenses related to processing.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2017 Cathedral City Building and Cannabis Processing Fee Review Recommendations
2. Building Permit Fee Study 2017 Worksheet
3. Desert Valleys Builders Association Development Fee Study (November 2014)
4. Resolutions